First Look: BlackBerry Playbook..is it an iPad killer?

I am still waiting for my review unit from Research in Motion (RIM) so I dropped into Future Shop Pointe-Claire for a look at this latest warrior in the tablet wars.

Colour me impressed..I liked the feel of the BlackBerry PlayBook good weight in the hand with a nice bright screen. The browser looks good and loads my graphic intensive blog quickly.

It is the perfect size for reading and comes with my favourite reading app, Kobo. Brightness and contrast of the screen makes for a comfortable read.

The touch screen has the right sensitivity and the multitasking is quite impressive.

So is it an iPad killer? No..there are practically no apps and it is the iPad ecosystem of device and apps that make it a killer device..the PlayBook is not likely to ever have that kind of an ecosystem even when it is able to use Android and BlackBerry phone apps.

I can however say, even on this first look that it could be a Samsung Galaxy Tab killer and even a Motorola Xoom killer with a few more key apps and and native email and calendar client.

Once I get my hands on a trial unit for a few days I will be able to give you a better feel for where the BlackBerry PlayBook fits into the tablet grand scheme of things. I’m looking forward to seeing if my first impressions are valid.

By the way, it looks like the PlayBook had a good first day..Future Shop Pointe-Claire sold most of the ninety it had in stock by the lunch hour.

Bob Benedetti

Former RCAF Fighter Pilot Bob worked for CTV Montreal as a Reporter, Producer and Executive producer for 35 years retiring in 2004. Bob started reporting on personal technology in 1995 at CTV and continues today at Home Technology Montreal